Mother Popcorn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Mother Popcorn" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Image:MotherPopcorn.jpg | ||
| Single by James Brown from the album It's a Mother | ||
| A-side | "Mother Popcorn - Pt. 1" | |
| B-side | "Mother Popcorn - Pt. 2" | |
| Released | June 1969 | |
| Format | 7" | |
| Recorded | May 13, 1969 at King Studios, Cincinnati, OH | |
| Genre | Funk | |
| Length | 6:13 | |
| Label | King 6245 | |
| Writer | James Brown Alfred Ellis | |
| Producer | James Brown | |
"Mother Popcorn" (sometimes subtitled "(You Got to Have a Mother for Me)") is a song recorded by James Brown and released as a two-part single in 1969. A #1 R&B hit, it was the highest-charting of a series of Brown recordings inspired by the popular dance The Popcorn which Brown recorded that year. Other entries included "Let a Man Come In and Do the Popcorn" and an album of instrumentals, The Popcorn.
"Mother Popcorn" has a beat and structure similar to Brown's 1967 hit "Cold Sweat", but a faster tempo and a greater amount of rhythmic activity (including a lot of agitated 16th note movement from the horn section and the three guitars) give it a more frenetic quality than the earlier song. The song features a saxophone solo by Maceo Parker, which starts at the end of Part 1 in the single version of the song.
Vicki Anderson recorded the answer song "Answer to Mother Popcorn (I Got a Mother for You)", also in 1969.
Contents |
[edit] Personnel
- James Brown - lead vocal
with the James Brown Orchestra:
- Richard "Kush" Griffith - trumpet
- Joe Davis - trumpet
- Fred Wesley - trombone
- Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis - alto saxophone
- Maceo Parker - tenor saxophone
- St. Clair Pinckney - baritone saxophone
- Jimmy Nolen - guitar
- Alphonso "Country" Kellum - guitar
- Kenny Poole - guitar
- Charles Sherrell - bass guitar
- Clyde Stubblefield - drums
A James Brown Production
[edit] Live version
Brown performs a live version of "Mother Popcorn" on his album Sex Machine.
[edit] "You Got to Have a Mother for Me"
On January 13, 1969 Brown recorded a song at the RCA Studios in Los Angeles, California under the title "You Got to Have a Mother for Me". It had most of the same lyrics as "Mother Popcorn" but a completely different instrumental component, and was rejected for release as a single in favor of the later recording (which retained the earlier song title as a subtitle). The original "You Got to Have a Mother for Me" was first issued on the 1988 James Brown compilation album Motherlode.
[edit] Cover versions
Aerosmith covered "Mother Popcorn" on their album Live! Bootleg. It was also covered by Frank Black on the 1998 tribute album James Brown Super Bad @ 65, and by The Blues Brothers in a medley with "Do You Love Me" on Made in America.
[edit] Trivia
The lyrics and music from "Mother Popcorn" are briefly quoted in the Prince song "Gett Off".
[edit] References
- Leeds, Alan M., and Harry Weinger (1991). Star Time: Song by Song. In Star Time (pp. 46-53) [CD liner notes]. London: Polydor Records.
- White, Cliff (1991). Discography. In Star Time (pp. 54-59) [CD liner notes]. London: Polydor Records.
